Manager Jang Han-su’s Unease

Manager Jang Han-su anxiously stared at his smartphone screen.  

Earlier in the afternoon, he had tried calling Si-hyun, but the call didn’t connect.  
He checked on his computer, and she was in a D-rank dungeon.  

He assumed that someone with Si-hyun's level of skill would finish quickly and come out.  

However, she had been in the dungeon all afternoon.  
Due to the dual dungeon situation, the manager was busy and eventually had to return to his work.  

As night fell, and he continued his late-night shift, he found a moment to call again.  

He knew that calling at this hour could be burdensome, but given the situation, he really needed her help.  

But despite the passing time, she didn’t pick up.  

*‘Is she busy...?’*  

Just as he was about to give up and hang up,  

- "...Hello?"  

The call barely connected.  
Manager Jang felt a strange sense of déjà vu as he opened his mouth.  

“I’m sorry to call at such a late hour, Si-hyun. Could we talk for a moment?”  

- “…Yeees.”  

*‘Hmm?’*  

Her speech was strangely slurred.  
Manager Jang tilted his head in confusion, but still proceeded with the matter.  

“There’s been a situation where many hunters have gone missing in the A-rank dungeon. Also, the gate is on the verge of breaking down. Have you heard about it?”  

- “Ah... yes. I saw it.”  

It wasn’t a misunderstanding!  
She was clearly very drunk, and her speech was extremely slurred.  

Realizing why the call took so long to connect, Manager Jang scratched the back of his head.  
He figured it was best to keep it brief. He immediately spoke up.  

“I need your help, and I’d like to ask if you’re willing to participate.”  

- “...When is it?”  

“The advance team is tomorrow morning, and the backup team is in the afternoon!”  

She asked about the date!  
Perhaps because of the alcohol, her response seemed oddly friendly.  

Manager Jang eagerly waited for her reply.  
Even if she could only join the backup team, it would be a significant boost to their forces.  

But then,  

- “In the afternoon... I have class.”  

“Ah, I see.”  

Oh my god! He hadn’t expected her to have a class!  
Manager Jang unknowingly slapped his forehead.  

Of course, the dates overlapped!  
His disappointment was palpable as he paused before speaking.  

- “Sorry...”  

“No, it’s fine! Please don’t worry about it! I’m the one who’s sorry for disturbing you. Have a good time.”  

- “...Yes.”  

The call ended.  
Manager Jang stared at his smartphone with an expression of utter disappointment.  

Si-hyun, who was usually so blunt, had a cute, slurred voice now, which was oddly soothing, but it didn’t help in this situation.  

To begin with, she was D-rank, so she wasn’t even part of the call-up order.  
Her schedule was already tight, and he couldn’t exactly pressure her more, especially not when she was intoxicated.  

“*Sigh…*”  

He let out a deep sigh and returned to his work.  

---

#### Si-hyun’s Morning

*Tweet tweet—*  

“*Yawn…*”  

Si-hyun woke up to the sound of sparrows chirping.  
She stretched lazily, glancing at the clock on the wall.  

9 AM.  
Normally, she would wake up early for morning prayers, so this was a much later start than usual.  

But she hadn’t felt much of a hangover, despite drinking quite a bit last night.  
Maybe it was because she had good food and drinks, or maybe she just slept well.  
Either way, it felt like a win. *Hehe...*  

“Hmm?”  

Her smartphone, which she usually left in the same spot, was missing.  
She looked around the living room, turning her head.  

“Not here?”  

Where had she left it last night?  

She expanded her search area, checking the corners of the living room and the bathroom.  

“Oh! Here it is. Hahaha…”  

She found it next to the fridge. She must have placed it there while grabbing something and forgot about it.  

Amused by her own actions, Si-hyun scratched her head and unlocked her phone.  

There was one missed call.  
And several new messages.  

The missed call was from Gia.  

Why hadn’t she noticed the call, even though she was drunk?  
She tilted her head and checked her phone.  

*‘Ah, it was on vibrate...*’  

No wonder she missed it.  
She chuckled lightly and checked the messages.  

- “Si-hyun, are you busy? Since you didn’t pick up, I’ll leave a text.”  
- “I decided to join the advance team for the A-rank dungeon. I’ll be acting as a supporter escort for the Dawning Guild, so don’t worry too much!”  

Gia had joined the raid on the A-rank dungeon, the one she had seen in the news.  

Knowing that Gia tended to go for more challenging dungeons, this didn’t surprise Si-hyun.  
Gia’s personality made it clear that joining the advance team was something she would do.  

...Wait, didn’t she say the advance team was this morning?  
She must already be in the dungeon.  

Si-hyun leaned back on the sofa, feeling at ease.  
There was still plenty of time before her academy lecture, so she decided to relax for a while.  

She skimmed through the news and articles.  
There were several urgent reports detailing the risks of the A-rank dungeon raid.  

"...."  

This really looks dangerous.  

The information that had been unclear when they were out at the wine bar now came together, with multiple sources emphasizing the serious risk of this dungeon.  

Special dungeons were extremely rare, and many of those cases involved an increase in the dungeon’s difficulty level.  
Several S-rank hunters were already participating in the raid.  

*‘I need to look up related materials too.’*  

Si-hyun decided to spend some time gathering information on S-rank hunters needed for clearing, as well as on dual dungeons.  

After carefully piecing together the information, Si-hyun concluded:  
If the dungeon was truly A-rank, it could still be cleared without too much trouble.  
But if it turned out to be a dual S-rank dungeon...  

The forces gathered seemed too few.  
There were certainly going to be casualties.  
It was likely that the hunters involved weren’t all S-rank, which meant the situation could become dire.  

"*Sigh...*"  

She unconsciously furrowed her brow, then rubbed it out.  
She glanced at the wall clock again and then back at her phone screen.  

If she joined the backup team, she could participate.  
But that would mean missing today’s academy lecture.  

As a part-time lecturer, the dean had already been very understanding of her schedule.  
It wouldn’t look good if she suddenly canceled her class for the day, even though the students might understand.  

"*Hmm...*"  

She checked Gia’s message again.  

- "I’m the supporter escort for the Dawning Guild, so don’t worry too much!"  

Was it really safe? Or was it just her own worry?  

...  
Si-hyun thought deeply, tapping her cheek.  

This wasn’t just any dungeon—it was an undead dungeon.  
The backup team would have to deal with revived monsters while joining the raid.  
Could they clear this dual dungeon safely?  

She glanced back at the clock nervously.  

Time was slipping by.  
She needed to make a decision.  

If it was truly an A-rank dungeon, it would be manageable with the current forces.  
But if it turned out to be an S-rank dungeon, it would lead to injuries, maybe even deaths.  

She didn’t care much about what happened to others.  
But Gia was involved in this, and that made it personal.  

Her worry might be unnecessary, but high-level dungeons were unpredictable, and anything could happen.  

She had to choose.  
Between the possible danger to Gia and her responsibilities as a professor at the academy.  

One had to be sacrificed.  

"*Hah...*"  

Frustration surged through Si-hyun as she stood up from the sofa.  
She grabbed a cold bottle of water from the fridge and drank it down.  

The coolness of the water eased the heat in her body.  
She calmed down and regained her focus.  

Checking the clock one more time, she stared at her phone screen, re-reading Gia’s message.  

Which of the two choices was the right one?  

"...It’s obvious."  

She didn’t want to regret this.  
Having made her decision, she knew exactly what she had to do.  

---

#### The Day of the Monsterology Lecture  

Jae-woo finished his major classes in the morning and headed down to the building’s basement.  
As usual, he grabbed a light lunch at the snack bar.  

Returning to the first floor, he made his way to the lecture room at the end of the hall.  
He sat in his usual spot at the front of the aisle and idly browsed through his phone while waiting for class to begin.  

- *Screech.*  

The back door of the lecture room opened, and a student walked in

.  
Normally, it would have been Areum or Eunbyeol, but today it was someone else.  

Jae-woo turned his gaze back to his phone.  

...  
Several more students entered the room.  
The time for class was approaching, but there were still fewer students than usual.  
Areum and Eunbyeol hadn’t shown up.  

At that moment, Jae-woo noticed something odd.  

*‘Could it be?’*  

He hurriedly logged into the academic information system and checked the announcement for the Monsterology lecture.  

[**Monsterology Lecture 4th Session Canceled**]  

It was an urgent notice posted just a few hours ago.  
There was an urgent scheduling conflict, and today’s lecture was canceled, with a make-up class scheduled later.  

"...."  

Jae-woo looked around the classroom.  
It seemed that all the students here were like him—unaware of the cancellation.  

On the other hand, Areum and Eunbyeol must have known and decided not to show up.  

*‘Why didn’t they share the notice with me?’*  

Jae-woo sighed heavily.  
He stood up and walked toward the blackboard.  

He wrote in large letters that today’s lecture was canceled.  

At that moment, the students started murmuring.  

"What? It’s canceled today?"  
"Already the 4th session, and they’re canceling?"  

Some students checked the academic notice themselves.  

"It was posted just a few hours ago?"  
"I don’t mind the cancellation, but they could have posted the notice earlier."  

Murmuring complaints, the students started leaving the classroom one by one.  

Jae-woo, watching them leave, packed his things as well.  

*‘I wonder what happened to make them cancel the class?’*  

He thought as he fiddled with his smartphone, preparing to book a D-rank dungeon.  

Before opening the app, he checked his messages.  

- "Jae-woo, are you going to the dungeon today? Areum is going too."  
- "Ah! You didn’t go to the Monsterology class, did you?"  

A message from Eunbyeol, just one minute ago.  

"*Sigh.*"  

Jae-woo let out a light sigh and began typing his reply.  

---

#### Meanwhile, Si-hyun's Situation  

Si-hyun sat in the passenger seat of a car, heading toward the gate.  
She had expressed her desire to join the backup team, and Manager Jang Han-su personally came to pick her up.  

"...Sorry for the trouble."  
"It’s not a problem. Your participation is more than enough."  

As the red light turned on at the traffic signal, Manager Jang paused the car and glanced at Si-hyun, who was sitting stiffly in her nun’s habit, looking deep in thought.  

*‘Even she gets nervous sometimes.’*  

Wanting to help her relax, Manager Jang decided to break the silence.  

"Si-hyun, are you feeling nervous?"  
"...Huh? Nervous? Not at all."  
"Really?"  

It was an unexpected answer.  
Manager Jang blinked in surprise and asked again.  

"Weren’t you worried about something?"  
"Oh, how did you know?"  

Si-hyun blinked and tilted her head, before opening up about her concerns.  

"It’s about the academy lecture. They posted the cancellation notice so suddenly, and I feel bad for the students..."  
"Ah, I see."  

Manager Jang couldn’t help but chuckle at the unexpected source of her anxiety.  
She wasn’t nervous about the dungeon raid, but about her students.  

"I think I can help with that."  
"Really?"  

Si-hyun asked, surprised.  
Manager Jang smiled confidently.  

"I was already thinking about what kind of reward to offer you from the Bureau. Maybe something the students would like?"  
"Yes! Please do!"  

With her concerns now resolved, Si-hyun smiled brightly.  
Manager Jang blushed slightly and turned his gaze away.  

He couldn’t help but remember her voice and tone from their earlier conversation.  
Clearing his throat, he resumed driving.